BURLINGTON – An Arlington woman has been ordered jailed after she was charged with repeatedly violating her conditions of release while awaiting sentencing for lying during the purchase of a firearm.
Candace L. Walsh, 39, of East Arlington Road is due for sentencing on May 17 in U.S. District Court for a charge of providing false information about her criminal record while buying a handgun, a judge noted on Friday.
Chief Federal Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford said he believes that new allegations that Walsh has resumed her drug use "are serious."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia Cowles said sweat patches show she has continued to use drugs while on release, even after attending Valley Vista, a residential drug treatment facility in Vergennes.
The judge said he was concerned about Walsh's lack of ongoing sobriety as a mother. Crawford said the Lund Home in Burlington, which has programs for young mothers, might be a place for future consideration.
Defense lawyer Michael C. Shklar said Walsh owns a home in Arlington. He suggested Walsh be ordered into home confinement until she could enter the drug treatment program at Serenity House in Wallingford.
Crawford said he was not inclined to give her another chance in light of multiple failures on her track record. He said her treatment at Valley Vita "worked for a time," but Walsh later stopped coming in for follow-up testing.
Shklar said he may file a motion to postpone the sentencing one month to allow Walsh to develop a treatment plan. Crawford said he would consider it, if filed.
Walsh pleaded guilty Dec. 1, 2023 to making oral and written false statements during the purchase of a 9-mm firearm on May 31, 2023 from the Last Frontier, a federally licensed dealer in Mount Tabor, records show.
Walsh falsely claimed while buying the gun that she had no pending criminal charges against her, records show. Walsh actually knew she was awaiting trial in Vermont Superior Court in Bennington for eight felony charges -- four counts of forgery and four counts of false pretenses, records show. She pleaded not guilty to those state charges on Feb. 21, 2023.
Walsh was captured on Community Bank security camera while trying to pass the checks and also provided her driver's license, Bennington Police Officer Scott Legacy II said in court records.
The gun shop allowed Walsh to receive the gun on June 8 because the FBI records check was incomplete, documents show. The case was sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for investigation. By that time authorities realized she had felony criminal charges pending and Walsh claimed she had disposed of the firearm shortly after the purchase.
Walsh had initially pleaded not guilty to the felony gun charge in federal court on Aug. 8, 2023 and was released on strict conditions.
Two months later Cowles petitioned to have Walsh jailed for not following her pre-trial release conditions. Cowles said Walsh used controlled substances in September 2023. When she was referred to drug treatment initially, Walsh failed to appear for her intake appointment, Cowles said.
She said Walsh also failed to respond to the probation office's follow up calls and emails. A second violation report was filed in October 2023.
Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle ordered her jailed Oct. 20, 2023 after Walsh admitted in court she violated the court order for release.
Three days later Walsh struck a deal with the prosecution to admit to the felony charge, records show.
When Walsh pleaded guilty Dec. 1, 2023, Crawford agreed to release her again on strict conditions, including that she attend a residential treatment facility at Valley Vista between Dec. 15 and Dec. 31, 2023.
Walsh also agreed to forfeit any claim to the firearm should authorities ever recover it.
She did not stay sober for very long as Crawford signed an arrest warrant on Feb. 29 after the Pre-Trial Supervision Office in Southern Vermont reported Walsh had reverted to drug use again.
Vermont State Police worked with the U.S. Marshals Service to arrest Walsh during the noon hour last Tuesday.
Lt. Steven Coote, the station commander at Shaftsbury, said both the Arlington Memorial High School and the Fisher Elementary School on East Arlington Road enacted safety protocols when troopers assisted deputy marshals in executing the federal warrant.
Coote said she was arrested nearby without incident.
Walsh is due to have a status conference in her state criminal cases at 1:30 p.m. April 29 in Vermont Superior Court with Judge Kerry A. McDonald-Cady.